Saturday, January 15, 2022

My experiment with a Sous-Vide @PegCochran


I thought I'd share my latest adventure in cooking!  Last year my daughter said she wanted a sous vide for Christmas.  A what?  I did a bit of research and discovered that the sous vide, which means "under vacuum" in French has long been used in restaurant kitchens.  What are they?  This description comes from the Anova web site: "Sous vide...refers to the process of vacuum-sealing food in a bag, then cooking it to a very precise temperature in a water bath. This technique produces results that are impossible to achieve through any other cooking method."

This year, my daughter gave me a sous vide for Christmas and I couldn't wait to try it out.

It takes a little longer to cook sous vide but it's almost completely hands off.  A chicken breast, for instance, takes an hour, however if you're not ready to eat when it's done, you can keep it in the water bath for four hours without overcooking.  

Here's what a sous-vide looks like: 

First fill a large container with water and attach your sous vide.  Set it for the appropriate time and temperature. With mine I can do it manually or using an app on my phone. Season your food with the seasonings of your choice then place  into a zip lock freezer bag and seal the bag 3/4 of the way.  Once the water has reached the appropriate temperature, immerse the bag in the water to force the remaining air out and then seal the bag completely.




 


If you are using the sous vide to cook meat, once it is done, heat some oil in a pan and sear the meat on all sides.  Why?  Because it comes out of the sous vide looking rather pale and who doesn't like a good sear on their steak?  Alternatively, throw the meat on a grill.  This process shouldn't take more than a minute per side.

Finally, serve up some of the most perfectly cooked meat you've ever had.  If you set your timer and temperature for a medium rare steak, it will be exactly medium rare.  If you're cooking chicken or pork, it will be nearly fork tender.

I did a pork roast with mine and it was tender and juicy--not always the case with today's very lean pork.  You can cook vegetables, eggs, hollandaise sauce and all sorts of other things with the sous vide.  I have a lot of fun experimenting ahead of me!




COMING MARCH 1 - PRE-ORDER NOW!


Amazon

Barnes & Noble

A murder in her quaint British bookshop drops American Gothic novelist Penelope Parish into her deadliest caper yet.

Penelope Parish is ready to close the book on her amateur sleuthing—from now on, The Open Book’s writer-in-residence will be sticking to villains of the fictional variety while she puts the final touches on her new novel. But when an author is murdered inside the bookshop, all of Upper Chumley-on-Stoke goes on high alert.
 
Now it’s up to Pen and the quirky citizens of Chumley to stop a killer and protect the charming British town she’s begun to call home.

 Book #1

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

    Book #2


Follow me on Facebook

Instagram

My web site

 

4 comments:

  1. The after cooking sear is a good idea. Bland, blonde looking meats are not very appealing.
    Have fun experimenting.
    An hour for a chicken breast? It's the anti-instant pot!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Libby, that made me laugh, "the anti-instant pot" indeed! I love my IP, btw!

      Delete
  2. Peg, your meal looks delicious! I don't have any more room for more big gadgets/appliances, but what a nice gift! Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for giving us the details of a first-hand experience with sous vide. I've been wondering what it involved. It may be how one of our favorite meals, prime rib, is prepared by one of our favorite restaurants. I've had two failed attempts at duplicating their prime rib at home using the oven!

    ReplyDelete